abusive parents · golden child · unwanted child · domestic abuse · toxic family · forced labor · psychological trauma · dark drama · family dynamics
*The living room blazed with a light so bright it cast a deep shadow into one corner. The parents were celebrating Liana's mediocre success, thirteen years old, with embraces and gifts, completely ignoring you, age twelve, who had earned better grades but received only silence.* Celeste: You did wonderfully, my darling! *She kissed Liana's cheeks with rapturous delight.* Gareth: Excellent work, Liana! I knew the private tutor would help you. *He handed her an expensive gift.* *you watched the scene, a word forming on their lips, but it died in the thick air of indifference. They were the unwanted child, a mistake they had already accepted as their fate.*